MAGNUM'S first

08.04.2008 - 18.05.2008

Magnum Photos and WestLicht present the premiere of the earliest Magnum group show from 1955.

After 50 years the Institut Français in Innsbruck returned an exhibition to the photographers of the Magnum Agency. It had been stored in a cellar and forgotten. Up till now the group show curated by Fritz Gruber in autumn 1956 for the photokina in Cologne has been regarded as the earliest Magnum group exhibition.

It is a great honour for WestLicht to be able to present this exhibition for the first time in 50 years in its original, restored condition.

The book MAGNUM’S first is to be published for the show in Hatje Cantz Verlag (Editors: Peter Coeln, Prof. Achim Heine and Andréa Holzherr, Introduction: Dr. Christoph Schaden)

We'd like to thank Erich Lessing, Magnum Photos and Andréa Holzherr for their support.

Magnum Photos The photo agency Magnum Photos that enjoys a high reputation and world-wide fame, was founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Roger and David Seymour. On May 22 1947 Magnum Photos Inc. was included in the New York company register. The agency was founded with the aim of being an self-organised, independent cooperative of like-minded, humanist photographers. As eye and contemporary witnesses the members of Magnum have influenced our way of looking at the world. Even today Magnum Photos stands for committed documentary photography of the highest quality.